2009 TV Ad Revenue Figures

Broadcast Television Ad Revenues
Were Down 22.6% in 3rd Quarter

New York, December 18, 2009—Total broadcast television ad revenues were down 22.6% in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to a Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) analysis of estimates supplied by TNS Media Intelligence.

Breaking the total into its component parts, network TV was down 21.5% in the quarter, syndicated TV was down 7.2%, and local broadcast television (based on the top 100 markets) was down 28.1%. Local broadcast TV, in particular, suffered from a drop in political dollars in comparison with the spending last year leading up to the 2008 presidential election.

For the first nine months of 2009, network TV was down 10.7%, syndicated TV was down 2.8%, and local broadcast TV was down 27.4%, producing a total broadcast TV loss of 15.7%.

Twenty-two of the Top 25 advertising categories in local broadcast TV were down in the 3rd quarter, including the No. 1 all-important Automotive category. Focusing on the Top Ten categories, No. 1 Automotive was down 49.8%, No. 2 Communications/Telecommunications was down 22.3%, No. 3 Restaurants was down 14.8%, No. 4 Car & Truck Dealers was down 32.6%, No. 5 Furniture Stores was down 19.8%, No. 6 Insurance was down 21.0%, No. 7 Schools, Colleges & Camps was down 11.0%, No. 8 Food and Food Products was down 7.0%, No. 9 Financial was down 26.3%, and No. 10 Legal Services was up 3.3%.

Twenty-three of local broadcast television’s top 25 individual advertisers were down in the quarter. Focusing on the Top Ten, No. 1 Verizon Communications was down 28.2%, No. 2 Ford Motor Co Dealers Association was down 32.2%, No. 3 AT&T Inc. was down 30.0%, No. 4 General Mills was down 23.3%, No. 5 Toyota Motor Corp Dealers Association was down 36.7%, No. 6 Yum Brands was down 22.9%, No. 7 Honda Motor Company was down 45.6%, No. 8 Comcast Corp was down 30.7%, No. 9 Chrysler Cerberus was down 57.1%, and No. 10 General Motors was down 54.9%.


3rd QUARTER 2009 SUMMARY
($000)
       
  3rd Qtr 2009 3rd Qtr 2008 % Change
Spot TV* 3,119,714.9 4,336,851.7 -28.1
Syndication 1,022,248.4 1,101,120.4 -7.2
Network TV 4,656,588.8 5,931,483.2 -21.5
Total Broadcast TV 8,798,552.1 11,369,455.3 -22.6
 
JAN-SEPT 2009 SUMMARY
($000)
       
  Jan-Sept 2009 Jan-Sept 2008 % Change
Spot TV* 8,659,740.9 11,924,769.8 -27.4
Syndication 3,208,224.7 3,301,801.5 -2.8
Network TV 17,033,481.3 19,072,455.5 -10.7
Total Broadcast TV 28,901,446.9 34,299,026.8 -15.7
     
*Includes both local and national spot activity in the 100+ markets measured by TNS/MI.
     
Copyright 2008, 2009. TNS Media Intelligence


View top 25 spot TV advertisers for 3rd quarter

View top 25 spot TV ad categories for 3rd quarter

View top 25 spot TV advertisers for Jan-Sept

View top 25 spot TV ad categories for Jan-Sept


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